Coach Mike Montgomery said Wednesday that Adonal Foyle will remain the Warriors' starting center for the "near future," thereby returning Golden State to its regular starting lineup and shifting Ike Diogu to more backup duty at his natural power-forward spot.

"Ike's got to be a '4' at some point, that's just some place we've got to get him to," Montgomery said. "We avoided doing that a little bit because we didn't want to try to put two positions at him. ... But the reality is, in the long haul, he's probably a '4'. Size-wise, he's got to be a 4'. "

Diogu debuted as the starting center on Dec. 26 after a breakout offensive performance against Detroit. Despite often being overmatched on defense, Montgomery stayed with the rookie for eight straight games, including last week's loss to Miami and 7-foot-2 center Shaquille O'Neal.

Montgomery later labeled the defensive assignment as unfair to Diogu, who is listed at 6-8, but is probably closer to 6-7.

"There aren't a whole lot of '5' guys in the league at that size," Montgomery said. "It's almost not fair to him, putting him there and expecting him to (matchup). He's a classic '4' guy who can play the low post and shoot from outside."

Regardless of where Diogu plays, the Warriors should enjoy increased flexibility with their lineups now that Foyle is starting again and swingman Mickael Pietrus is healthy.

Montgomery said Pietrus can play anywhere from shooting guard to power forward in the right situation. He is also a spark on offense and defense -- he scored 19 points in 15 minutes against Seattle on Monday and figures to be key in defending Cleveland's LeBron James on Friday night.

Pietrus' return is a double boost for the Warriors, who had only Derek Fisher as a reliable scorer off the bench for much of the season.

"We were thin," Jason Richardson said. "Guys have bad games, it was kind of hard to have somebody to come in and lift the team up."

Added Montgomery: "Knowing that we've got people that can come in and play different positions, maybe that keeps (players) on their toes a little bit more."

Question mark: Don't count on rookie Chris Taft to be among Golden State's options. The rookie has averaged 8.4 minutes in 17 games, but has been in and out of Warriors practices since injuring his back in the summer.

"There's nothing we can do," Montgomery said. "His back flares up. He hasn't had any continuity. And so right now, we just can't count on him."

And that dependability could be a long time coming. Asked if he's liked what he has seen from Taft in limited minutes, Montgomery said "he's not been there enough to even know."

St. John's will hold an official celebration in Queens on Friday and a halftime ceremony during Saturday's Pittsburgh-St. John's game at Madison Square Garden.

"Much appreciated," Mullin said. "It's a celebration of the past, but I look forward to it. I get to see a lot of people that were instrumental in my development and, to this day, are still a part of my life."